Samsung’s new update comes with a warning for millions of Galaxy owners.
It’s finally here—Samsung has now launched its One UI 7 beta, bringing Android 15 and a raft of its own changes to its eager fan-base. While the beta is limited to S24s in certain regions, all Galaxy phones will completely change once updated.
Samsung is locking down its phones, narrowing the gap to iPhone as the two companies go head-to-head in the premium handset category. One UI 7 brings Galaxy devices much closer to iPhones, but in doing so changes the Android proposition. If you’re not familiar with Maximum Restrictions, then hold tight.
Android 15 is all about security, narrowing the infamous gap to iPhone. Theft protection, live threat detection to flag malware on devices, scam call warnings, even cellular network defense. In the build up to One UI 7, we asked whether Samsung would include all these updates or allow a gap to form to Pixel. The surprising answer is that it has gone further, much further than Android 15. This is a game-changer.
As I reported back in July, “in a break with the past, Samsung has decided that ‘starting with One UI 6.1.1, additional security features including Maximum Restrictions, have been added’ to its devices’.”
While these restrictions apply sensible protections to blocking casual clicking on links in emails and messages, as well as auto-downloading attachments and removing metadata from photos being shared, this is really all about sideloading. “To protect against malicious apps that come from sideloading,” Samsung warns, “One UI 7’s new Safe Install system works alongside Auto Blocker to send a warning when a user attempts to download from an unauthorized source, alerting them of security risks and preventing unintentional sideloading on Galaxy devices worldwide.”
Accessing apps on third-party stores and even installing directly from the internet has been one of the key pillars setting Android apart from iPhone. It’s changing now, though. As Zimperium’s Nico Chiaraviglio warns, “Android faces higher malware risks, primarily due to its open ecosystem, which allows third-party app stores and application sideloading.” Chiaraviglio told me that even though “Android 15’s focus on security will likely reduce risks, its open architecture will continue presenting more attack vectors than iOS’s controlled ecosystem.”
And so Samsung is going further than Google and stock Android. While autoblocking app installs is still presented as a manual decision, it looks set to become ever harder to override, update by update. “Only apps from authorized sources, such as the Galaxy Store or Play Store, can be installed,” Samsung says. “If you attempt to install apps from unknown or unauthorised sources, you will receive a pop-up alert, and Auto Blocker will prevent you from continuing with the installation. If the app is determined to be safe, temporarily disable this feature and try again.”
Maximum Restrictions are being expanded with One UI 7, and will now include the option across all updated Galaxy devices to disable 2G for the first time. This is critical, as 2G networks are far less secure than 3G and especially LTE and 5G. Simple network attack devices, which trick phones into jumping from real networks to local, fraudulent ones, try to make a 2G connection with lower encryption levels. Google has issued its own warnings about this, and added defenses in Android 15.
Samsung has added new theft protection to One UI 7, which is becoming more the norm across iPhone and Android these days. Samsung says it has expanded Android’s offering to better protect data on stolen devices. “If suspicious activity is detected,” it says, “users can rest assured that these Galaxy-exclusive protections will kick in.”
The other major innovation from Samsung is Knox Matrix, this is Samsung’s answer to Apple’s secure ecosystem and presents what Samsung says is a “vision for the future, enhancing protection through multi-layered, intelligent threat monitoring between connected Samsung devices.” That means all your Samsung smart devices can essentially work together to better secure one another. It’s a clever move, and as I’ve commented before, it will make it harder to switch to a Pixel or an iPhone.
Samsung says that “at every layer, the latest One UI protects personal data while providing all types of users with choice, transparency and integrated security settings — because in the era of AI, there is no privacy without holistic security.”
That brings us back to the Samsung versus Apple battle for the $1000-plus flagships, which Pixel now joining that fray, especially in the US. What remains to be seen is how that privacy and security focus will extend to the cloud and how Samsung will tackle Apple’s Private Cloud Compute, which maintains user privacy even when AI tasks move from device to cloud.
That said, this is a major update from Samsung, and whether or not it does enough to sake a few iPhone users free, it certainly sets a new gap to Pixel and makes Galaxy phones the secure choice for Android users worldwide.